1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of computer system in general and in particular to a system and method for a gesture based control system.
2. Background
A user may enter commands and interact with a computer system by manipulating data or images in a window on a display, or by selecting operations from a menu associated with the window or an associated program, using input devices such as a mouse, keyboard, joystick, cross-key, or the like. Such input devices may also operate as position translating devices, which can be used to position a graphical, on-screen pointer, such as a cursor. A cursor functions, for example, to indicate a character to be revised or to indicate a position where data is to be entered or an operation is to be performed. A cursor, in some form or appearance, is typically present on the computer display. Manipulation of an input device by a user will result in a corresponding movement of the cursor. Thus, for example, movement of a mouse or other input device results in movement of the cursor in the same direction.
A cursor may have different appearances depending on its function and the state of the computer system. For example, when positioned in a text field on a computer display, the cursor may have the appearance of an “I-beam”, or a blinking vertical line. The position of the cursor in a text field indicates the location of the next character that will be entered by the user, typically via a keyboard. The cursor may have other appearances depending on its function. In a drawing or painting program, the cursor may be represented as a paint brush, pencil, eraser, bucket, or other graphic form.
The cursor may also take the shape of an arrow or pointer when positioned over user-selectable operations or when it is used to select graphical elements, such as windows. To select and activate a desired operation with the cursor, it may be positioned over a graphical or text representation of the operation. A button located on a mouse input device may be depressed and/or released to effectuate the operation. The user is notified of the acceptance of the operation for execution by visual feedback, usually in the form of some change in an image on the computer's display. One or more of the programs in use typically generates this visual response. These programs generate drawing commands to update the display images in response to the selected operations.
A disadvantage of prior art systems is that the input device is often just that, a device. The user is required to have a wired or wireless mouse or other input device and to use that device to manage selection, position translation, activation, and other input functions. Often the use of these physical devices is not natural or intuitive. Another disadvantage is the need to go through certain steps to change the context of the input device so that different functions may be performed.
With the popularity of very large displays, further disadvantages of prior art input devices and systems become apparent. When using a mouse for example, to attempt to translate the position of a cursor across a large display, the user must often lift the mouse and replace it on the mouse surface to enable the user to drag the cursor across even a portion of a large display. This is a wasted an unnatural motion.
There have been some prior art attempts to provide a solution to these problems. One prior art solution is the use of gloves on the users hand. These gloves deign to turn the users hand or hands into input devices. In one embodiment, an input glove is hard wired to a computer system. This solution has the disadvantage of literally tying the user to the spot, requiring a nearness to the computer system and a restriction on range of motion. In other cases, the gloves are wireless. However, such wireless implementations require an independent power supply for the glove. When the power supply needs to be recharged, the gloves may not be used.